Vittoria

Vittoria: Santa Maria delle Grazie churchSanta Maria delle Grazie church, Vittoria, Sicily, Italy.

Vittoria, town, southeastern Sicily, Italy. Vittoria is situated on a plain overlooking the Ippari River, west of Ragusa city. The town, which is gracefully laid out on a chessboard pattern, was founded (1607) by and named after Vittoria Colonna, daughter of the viceroy Marco Antonio Colonna and wife of Luigi III Enriquez, count of Modica (a town just south of Ragusa). Notable among the 18th-century buildings in the town are the Madre church, the Santa Maria delle Grazie church, and the Neoclassical Teatro Comunale (Communal Theatre).

Vittoria is an important market centre for wine and olive oil and also exports early fruit and vegetables. Pop. (2006 est.) mun., 61,088.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.